


Promise

by Dess



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: M/M, Monster!Asato, i mean it's mostly konoe's reaction to finding asato like this, kind of a "what if asato stayed a monster" scenario
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 12:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7439451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dess/pseuds/Dess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leaks may be defeated but that doesn't mean everything he did is magically reversed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a half-ending (because it focuses only on the aftermath of the Leaks-fight) to Asato's route. Nothing too big, just something i wanted to write down.

When Konoe woke up, all he saw was the forest. Green leaves gently swaying above his head, the wind tousling his hair, chilling him. The smell of nature, of fresh air and plants and water. The soft grass beneath his face, the slightly wet earth beneath his fingers.

His...fingers.

The fingers he could feel. There were only five of them.

And then it all came back. Leaks' face, distorted with malice and anger, the Poet's warm smile and the light he radiated, the indescribable pain he felt, the strength that rushed through him when he sang his song. The madness that had consumed Asato's body. And in the end, Asato himself. 

Memories flooding his mind, Konoe blinked and tried to raise his head. Immediately, daylight, as bright as if he stared right into the sun stung into his eyes and he squeezed them shut again, trying to get used to it. This was no time for lying around. He had to get going. The Poet might have helped him to defeat Leaks but knowing him Konoe found it hard to believe that Leaks would go down with one single fight. Gritting his teeth and still keeping his eyes shut he tried to sit up. He would rest later, when he had found a safe place.

A dull, pounding ache spread through his body, as he lifted himself up and sat on the ground, slowly opening his eyes. The fight against Leaks had drained him. Not to speak of-  
Hot white pain shot through his right arm and he doubled over, groaning in agony. The rest of the scene unfolded right before his eyes, he remembered Asato clawing at his arm, tearing it to shreds and himself eventually cutting it off completely. It had seemed such a meaningful gesture back then but right now he cursed his mind that had driven him to part ways with his arm. But even so, it was done now with no way to reverse it. He had to simply endure the pain and focus on what he needed to do. 

What did he need to do?

Asato's blue eyes flashed before him. Right. He needed to find Asato. He needed to find Asato in whatever state he was now. He needed to find Asato no matter what. Carefully clutching his arm with his functioning hand he came to stand on his feet. For one fleeting moment the world seemed to spin around him and Konoe feared he would black out again but the moment passed as suddenly as it had come and tentatively, Konoe put one foot forward. After he had convinced himself that his step was stable enough to be able to go forward, he slowly began to make his way into the forest. Asato couldn't be far off. They had fought Leaks together, Asato had stayed at Konoe's side until the very end, so he couldn't be too far away.

Occasionally, his wound still sent flashes of scorching fire up his arm but now that he had something his thoughts could focus on, the pain seemed far away, almost as if it were not real. It was not real, he convinced himself. It was not real. The only thing real was his feet touching the ground. The only thing real was the ache in his chest that grew bigger with each passing minute searching for the black cat. The only thing real was Asato. 

 

And after an eternity or maybe two or three he saw something black lying in the distance. A lump of fur, curled up in a ball. His eyes widened in excitement and he quickened up his pace, drawing closer to the black spot until-  
His breath hitched in his throat. This black...something was much bigger than Asato used to be. Never mind that, it didn't move. Not even a bit. He couldn't see it properly but from this distance it appeared to lie completely still. Dread spread through Konoe's body. Was it, was Asato...? 

Konoe's feet moved on their own as he started running. No pain, no injury could've held him back now, not with Asato's lifeless form right before his eyes. Had it all been in vain? All the fighting...would it even mean anything with Asato dead? What did he fight for if he couldn't even protect the one he loved? Before he knew it, tears started welling up in the corner of his eyes. Asato couldn't be dead. He wouldn't accept it.

Finally, his feet stopped in front of the black lump of fur and Konoe sank to his knees. The figure lying before him was undoubtedly Asato...but Asato in the monstrous form he had turned into. His fangs glistered in the faint light the trees let through their leaves and his fur appeared wet. Konoe couldn't say if this was blood or sweat or simply water and frankly, he didn't want to know. He had much more pressing concerns. His fingers reached out, frantically stroking through the fur, searching for a heartbeat, for warmth, for any sign of life. 

At the same time, Asato took a deep breath and roared.

Konoe's hand jerked back. Did Asato not recognize him? Kaltz and the Poet had helped him regain his consciousness within his monstrous body, helped him overcome his wild urges. Was that effect fleeting? Would Asato turn on him now, on him of all people?

_At least he's alive._

Trembling, he reached out to Asato again, touching his forehead. Asato didn't move, instead he opened his eyes. They were blue, the deep warm azure Konoe had learned to love. It was really him. Something stirred inside of him and he felt a single tear run down his cheek.

"Asato," he whispered, voice strangely hoarse. Asato was alive, right here before him. He hadn't lost him. "Asato."

Asato's chest rumbled and it took Konoe a second to realize that he was purring, expressing his feelings through the only way he knew, now that he couldn't speak. A smile formed on Konoe's lips and he sank against Asato, embracing him with the functioning arm. His heart threatened to overflow with relief, with the pure bliss he felt. 

"Don't ever worry me again like this," he whispered against Asato's chest. Asato smelled like the forest itself, like wet soil and slightly like the flowers from the field they had visited so often. Konoe swore, he would never forget that scent.

He heard Asato exhale softly, as if he told Konoe the same. Konoe chuckled quietly, lightheaded from the excitement to finally have his lover back, to finally have this whole mess Leaks had caused behind him (and maybe a little from the blood loss but he shunned the thought; he would worry about it later). "You're right. I won't do it again."

He propped himself up to look Asato in the eyes. The blue lights shone almost curiously, but it was mostly anxiety that filled his mate's gaze. Konoe understood, Asato was aware of his form and the suffering he had caused Konoe. It pained him to see Asato like this. It wasn't his fault, Konoe needed to make this clear to him.

He used his hand to stroke through the fur on Asato's forehead and smiled, never breaking eye contact with Asato. 

"It troubles you, doesn't it? Your condition." He spoke softly, like he was talking to a child, not only to calm Asato but himself. It was certainly strange to see Asato like this but he wouldn't let it stop him. 

"It doesn't have to. You may not look like a cat now...but in your heart you are and nothing more matters to me." He leaned into Asato, his voice barely a murmur. "No matter what you look like...you're still Asato. The Asato I know." Tears welled up in his eyes again and this time he didn't stop them. "The Asato I love. The Asato I will love whatever may come."

Asato's chest rumbled louder this time. His whole body shook and Konoe sobbed against his chest, overcome by emotion, before catching himself again. He had to continue, there was more to be said.

"You told me you were mine once. Do you remember?" A faint blush dusted Konoe's cheeks as he remembered that night. "I was so happy, even though I didn't understand it at first. It's funny, really, I grew so accustomed to feeling everybody else's emotions that I couldn't figure out my own. But I was proud to call you mine. I still am, I always will be. And," he paused, looking into Asato's eyes again, "I want to be yours." His blush deepened (this was no time to be embarrassed but he couldn't stop himself). "I want to be yours no matter what. So I won't leave you. Your form may be unusual, but I don't care, I don't care what anyone might say. I will stay with you."

Asato nuzzled into his touch and Konoe closed his eyes, leaning against Asato's forehead.

"I will stay with you. I promise."


End file.
